Journal
JOURNAL OF INVERTEBRATE PATHOLOGY
Volume 86, Issue 1-2, Pages 1-6Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2004.01.007
Keywords
Apis dorsata; Apis laboriosa; Tropilaelaps clareae; hygiene behaviour; migrations; India; Nepal
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The cavity-nesting Apis mellifera and Apis cerana bees detect, uncap, and remove diseased brood. The hygiene behaviour of open-air-nesting bees Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa was investigated in India and Nepal. Sealed A. dorsata pupae were pin-killed or deep-frozen. The workers removed 73 or 37% of damaged pin-killed pupae depending on the diameter of the pins, and only 7% of the frozen undamaged pupae. Migrating A. dorsata and A. laboriosa left unopened the sealed brood in deserted combs. Thus, A. dorsata and A. laboriosa do not open undamaged cells with dead brood. This behaviour is a more efficient mechanism in preventing the spread of diseases and parasitic mites than uncapping and removing dead pupae by A. mellifera and A. cerana. It may be beneficial for migrating A. dorsata and A. laboriosa to temporarily disuse part of the comb cells in exchange for arresting the mites there and thus reducing the increase of their population. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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